The 30-year-old forward returns after recovering from multiple fractures to his left lower leg sustained while playing for Team Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February. He had a follow-up procedure in September and was on the ice Thursday for an optional morning skate.
Fiala had 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) in 56 games last season, one cut short after he was hit into the side boards by Team Canada forward Tom Wilson, who then fell on his left leg at 17:10 of the third period in a 5-1 loss. He was taken from the ice on a stretcher and transported to the hospital.
He returns with the Kings (5-8-2) playing the sixth of a seven-game homestand that ends against the Calgary Flames on Saturday. He joins Artemi Panarin in the lineup for the first time since the 35-year-old forward was acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on Feb. 4. Mats Zuccarello came back Tuesday after the forward missed six games with an upper-body injury. He was minus-1 with a shot on goal in 11:13 of a 3-0 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
Fiala is in his fifth season with the Kings after signing a seven-year, $55.125 million contract ($7.875 million average annual value) on June 30, 2022, one day after he was traded to Los Angeles by the Minnesota Wild for defenseman Brock Faber and a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
